LANXESS’ Liquid Purification Technologies (LPT) business unit—operating in the United States as LANXESS Sybron Chemicals—enables customers in a wide variety of industries to meet their water purification challenges with a broad portfolio of ion exchange resins, reverse osmosis membranes and other specialized technologies and services. The company will be putting the spotlight on its high water permeability ULP (Ultra Low Pressure) Lewabrane® brand membrane elements at AMTA’s 2018 Membrane Technology Conference & Exposition in West Palm Beach, Florida, from March 12 – 16.

The new Lewabrane ULP line is available in both four-inch and eight-inch diameter by 40-inch long membrane elements. The eight-inch ULP elements are available with a 400 square foot membrane with an innovative 34mil spacer using ASD (Alternating Strand Design) geometry known for improved performance in biofouling environments. The eight-inch ULP line is also available with a 440 square foot membrane with a 28mil spacer. All Lewabrane ULP membranes are wet tested, and supported with a signed CoA.

The new Lewabrane Ultra Low Pressure (ULP) line offers high- water permeability and high micro pollutant rejection at low operating pressures. This is especially important in potable water applications where high flow productivity and good salt passage are important process parameters that determine the cost efficiency of the RO process. High water permeability means lower feed pressures, which means less power consumption per 1000 gallons (or 44 m3) of product water. Lewabrane ULP membranes typically require 40% less operational pressure than standard pressure membranes (typically tested at 225 psi and 2000 ppm NaCl). Additionally, these membranes are an excellent option for reducing micro contaminants in drinking water supplies.

The typical applications of Lewabrane ULP RO membranes are the filtration of drinking water and wastewater. Drinking water and wastewater plants often process large quantities of raw water daily. A membrane with a higher flux or water permeability can process large quantities of water at lower feed pressures, and hence, at lower power consumption, and lower operational costs than standard pressure membranes. This is particularly important in municipal water treatment applications where power consumption is usually the largest single cost for an operating facility.

Lewabrane ULP membrane elements are supported in LANXESS’ innovative LewaPlus® design software. It allows for the combined simulation and design of reverse osmosis (RO) and ion exchange (IX) processes for water treatment. LewaPlus allows users to design highly complex water treatment systems, and develop accurate projections operating performance as well as detailed calculations for capital and operating costs. This innovative design software is supported in 11 languages and is a free download at http://lpt.lanxess.com/en/lewaplus-software/.

More information on LANXESS’ Lewabrane® reverse osmosis membranes and downloadable brochures are available at www.lewabrane.com.